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>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv >> i so strongly believe that the great religions of the world are stronger than any insult. >> announcer: on your radio on tv the "bill press show." new on current tv. >> bill: and that was secretary of state hillary clinton again yesterday 26 minutes after the hour. she's absolutely right. the great religions of the world are and should be stronger than any insults. but the fact is if we've seen insults against the prophet mohammed create an -- we end up in protests that often lead to violence and often lead to the loss of innocent lives and led in libya to the killing of four of our diplomats and security guards and the american ambassador on the scene. but what about these people who

created this video in the first place? put it up there online? dan calling from cleveland ohio. dan, should we just leave them off the hook? what do you think? >> i think that you're kind of missing the boat here a little bit. these attacks in libya's embassy, from what i understand, reports are out this was staged and planned well ahead of these protests to coincide with the 9-11 anniversary. >> bill: no, that's true. but they were taking advantage of the protests that had been triggered by the video. that's why the secretary of state was talking about both in egypt and in libya. >> caller: i would say that the attacks in libya specifically libya would happen if the movie wasn't out there because those are planned -- we can't tie that fact to -- >> bill: sure you can tie it back -- dan, clearly, there was some terrorists who had planned to attack this embassy whether

or not they would have done it on that day without the protests, who knows. that's speculation. that's why the secretary is talking about the video. you cannot disconnect the video from what happened in libya. arnold. new mexico? >> caller: yes sir. good morning to you. >> bill: hi, arnold. how are you? >> caller: i think if they find them guilty, give them a first class trip over to cairo and turn them loose in the streets. let them deal with it. one other thing i want to say about what happened this week, you know, mitt romney go around talking about -- like when the job report came out. he says it was a blow to the stomach of people in this country. it a body blow. it hurts people. and you know what? what he did that tuesday night is a body blow to all people, the progressives, the liberals, people on the left. >> bill: you got it, arnold. >> announcer: this is the "bill

press show." debt and after they ran it up high enough, they would say oh my god, look at this national debt. we can't do this. (vo) current tv presents, a one hour political comedy special. >> republicans. government so small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. >> fox news is like a mecca for people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now here, the "full court press" on friday, september 14. great to see you today. we're brought to you today by ullico incorporated. good men and women of ullico, proudly serving the union workplace for more than 85 years now. led today by president ed smith. they're providing specialty insurance, risk solutions investment products and services. you can find out more about

their good work by visiting the web site, www.ullico.com. that's ullico.com. for the union workplace. so they have identified the filmmaker of this video. we're talking about what should happen to the producers of this video that insighted the violence or the protest in egypt and qlaib which led to the violence which led to the murder of our ambassador and three other americans. the filmmaker is a coptic christian, so-called again knickula -- nickula baisley. and he's assisted by a guy named steve kline who is the film promoter lives in hemet california. klein is head of a group called courageous christians united. he has called muslims

identified them as monsters and the southern poverty law center which tracks groups like the kkk and skinheads and other hate groups in this country has identified two of the organizations that klein is involved with as hate groups. so what about these guys? make a video like this, knowing what's going to happen, pop it up online and then we say well, that's their first amendment right. chuck calling -- i don't think so. chuck calling from santa fe in new mexico. hi chuck. >> hi, how are you? >> bill: hi, good. >> i agree with you. it is called is sadition. mr. klein was very arrogant when he was interviewed. >> bill: i saw that interview. he basically said -- >> caller: i'm a catholic. christianity is different in

different segments. he was very arrogant about it. as if they deserved it. >> bill: yeah, exactly. he said he had no remorse. he didn't feel he had blood on his hands. he hates muslims and he puts it out there. that's tough. whatever happens tough right? >> caller: wow. he has the blood -- of whatever happened to them, the four people killed. he has blood on his hands. >> bill: you got it. >> caller: i don't think that psycho really knows what's going on. some of the sociopaths, especially and some of these religious things that they don't realize what they do. they just do it. >> bill: it is either that or they realize what they do and they don't care. chuck, appreciate the call. in kath lame, washington. hello, rick, good morning. >> bill: it's what?

>> kath lami. good to have you with us. >> bill: i don't know what you're going to charge him with. >> i don't know either. >> caller: sadition doesn't sound too likely. if you have somebody who is aiding and abetting in the commission of a crime right the guy who is driving the car right, the guy who is the lookout guy or something for a bank robbery i mean this -- if you have people look -- somebody's killed in a fire and somebody has set the fire, you can get them for arson. somebody's killed in a fire -- it seems to me there's gotta be -- punishment for someone inciting inciting this kind of violence. >> caller: skeptical you can get him on it. i think we need to reassure

people in that part of the world that we are on their side. sometimes i think an election -- >> bill: maybe one way to reassure them would be to go after the filmmakers. it's just -- look, this film could have been -- the thing about it. this film could have been made, produced anywhere. for some reason, it ended up in maybe not that -- strange to believe. it ended up in southern california where there are a lot of nuts and fruits and nuts and crazy people. but it did end up on american soil and i just think that we should not look the other way and just automatically endorse that as a legitimate expression of our first amendment rights. nita in phoenix arizona. hi nita. >> caller: hi, good morning. >> bill: hi. what do you think? >> caller: what i think is you are exactly right. they need to be held accountable for their actions. you cannot go into a theatre and

yell fire where people can possibly get hurt. all types of things happen. >> bill: come to think of it, nita, certainly that is -- everybody accepts that. that is absolutely correct. and -- but i don't know that anybody's ever been prosecuted for doing so which gets back to rick's question. what would you charge them with? i don't know. but if you can prove that they incited violence at least to these people's deaths knowing that's what's likely to happen, there's gotta be something you can charge them with, right? >> exactly. what i'm thinking is this. further down the line, further investigation, i think we'll find that they knew exactly what they were doing and that this is not just a fluke. you know what i mean? we have a lot of things going on in the world. in that part of the world actually. we have the prime minister of israel in president obama's ear

about meeting and i mean i'm not a conspiracy theorist at all but i mean in the ties to israel. i think upon further investigation, it's gonna come out. this was no accident. no fluke. no just so happens. after 9-11, you know. >> bill: i'm not sure about the connection to israel. i'm not a conspiracy theorist either. but i do think that these people are responsible and must be held responsible for the results of their acts which i believe they certainly -- they had to know. look they had -- you put something out there today insulting the prophet mohammed, you know, no matter how ridiculous it may be, no matter how unwarranted it may be, you know what the result is going to be. >> bill: mike calling from

boston. hey, mike. >> caller: how you doing? >> bill: i'm good, thank you. good to have you with you. >> caller: i should preface with i listen to you every day and agree with almost everything you have to say except this. >> bill: well, you're a good man. friends can disagree. >> caller: i just can't believe how brazenly your disregarding the first amendment right now. >> bill: but the first amendment -- none of our constitution rights are absolute mike. none of them. >> caller: okay but in this particular case, your premise is predicated on the idea that of there's rationalism on both sides. that there's somebody who has the right to be offended in such a way that, you know, the results, which have already spoken for themselves are murder death destruction, and you have to -- i think in this kind of thing disgusting as

that movie is and from all accounts, by all accounts, i've heard it is horrible. >> bill: i've watched the trailer last night. it is disgusting. >> caller: that's not the point. i think if anything, this is the time when the first amendment is being put to the ultimate test. this is where we have to defend our value system. i mean the whole idea of the first amendment to me is predicated on something like this. >> bill: but whoa, whoa, whoa, mike, slow down. slow down. the first amendment is also about freedom of religion. and part of our -- see i think you're walking into the mitt romney trap here, mike. you know part of our value system is tolerance of religion. religious tolerance. that's also enshrined in the first amendment. >> caller: religious tolerance is a viewed difference between religiousle to rance and freedom. >> bill: you're saying these people are exercising their first amendment rights by their

freedom of speech. they are abusing their first amendment rights by being intolerant of another faith. another religion. so you see what i mean? you're defending them but they are -- they are violating america's basic constitutional freedom of religion. that's one of our principles as well. you see? >> freedom of religion is a principle. >> bill: tolerance. tolerance of religion, too. religious tolerance. we do not -- in other words we do not attack other people's religions. we accept the fact that they're protestant or catholic or jew or muslim or buddhist or whatever. that's not what these christians are -- >> caller: we don't sacrifice our freedom of speech to crazy people. >> bill: if you can go after the hate -- the kkk for preaching hatred of blacks, mike, let's not make this too complicated, you can go after these christians for preaching hatred of muslims. there is no difference between

what they're doing what the kkk is doing and what al-qaeda is doing, preaching hate like the kkd used religion to preach hatred of blacks. al-qaeda preaching hatred. these so-called christians, fanatic extremists who made this video are using their religion to preach hatred of muslims. i don't see any difference between them. sorry, friends. 1-866-55-press. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me.

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now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show."

>> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour here. [ laughter ] it's friday morning. september 14. this is the "full court press." coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours from our studio here on capitol hill. in washington, d.c. we've been talking about reaction to the violence in libya. and the video -- makers of that video that's triggered the violence, mitt romney softening his comments yesterday a little bit. still hasn't backed away. now he's just talking about it is time to mourn for the people who lost their lives and for their families. and maybe that's where he should have started out. things might have been better for him. john ward is senior political reporter for "huffington post." good friend. joining us on our news line this morning to talk a little politics.

hey, jon, good morning. so romney walked into a little buzz saw here, didn't he, with his initial comments about libya? to be fair, he did talk about mourning on the first day but it just wasn't the tone or the focus. he was intent on repeating his -- and backing up his criticism of the president from the night before. and yeah, it's been quite a mess, i guess. i think some of the criticism has been a little bit unfair because some people -- a lot of the press has reported that he -- he criticized a statement that wasn't a response and people are overlooking the fact you have to take him at his word but they were responding to the

reiteration of the earlier message. i think the real debate is whether or not that's enough to go on and criticize. and whether they spoke too soon. i just think that first criticism is a little -- is overlooking what they -- what was said. >> bill: let me challenge you on that a little bit. first of all he came out he accused -- not word for word but in so many words he accused the president of siding with the terrorists and the protestors against, you know, siding with them rather than condemning them. and he made a statement accusing president before the attacks had taken place before he knew the ambassador was dead. don't you think he should have waited? >> 10:00 on tuesday night. >> bill: we did not know that ambassador stevens was dead. >> he didn't know he was dead

but he knew folks in embassies had been attacked. >> bill: he was responding to a statement that was made before the attacks took place. >> see, that's the thing i take issue with. he was not. he was responding to a tweet from the embassy that happened after the attacks had taken place that said we stand by our earlier statement. >> bill: and on that earlier statement, the earlier statement said -- i don't have it word for word in front of me but it said that we don't -- we basically condemn efforts to use a video to inflame hatred of another religion. well, don't we? and is that -- is that standing up for the protestors? condemning? >> that's what's legitimate. that's what you could debate. i'm just saying the whole debate has been a little clouded over. >> bill: i think it looks like a guy who doesn't know anything about foreign policy. i have to tell you the way it comes degrees to me.

i know i'm a democrat. many republicans have told romney he should shut the hell up when he doesn't know what he's talking about. i think he came across as a guy who was too eager to butt his nose into the big story of the day, didn't know what he was talking about stepped on his you know what and now is trying to kind of trying to turn it, back his way out of it. >> i agree that he was too eager to get into this on a partisan level. i'm sure you saw her comments when stuff like this -- it is best to kind of wait and be wise and sober and make a measured judgment of things. i think he did not do that. >> bill: overall let me ask you this, john, coming out of the convention, his convention, through the democratic convention -- >> he's in trouble man. saw the polls last night. he's in trouble. >> bill: gives the numbers on

nbc. >> all of the swing states, he was down between 5 to 7 points. yeah, his numbers are bad. abc "washington post" poll a couple of days ago that showed likely voters, the spread was much closer than registered voters but the nbc poll was likely voters and the spread in the swing states with the numbers that matter. ohio florida virginia, romney is several points behind. if he doesn't do something to fix this, then he's going to be in trouble. the debates obviously are going to -- at the end of the day make a huge difference. he's behind by 7 8 points, that's a big challenge to overcome that. >> bill: five points behind i saw this morning in colorado. jon, as always, we got so much

to cover but so little time. we're out of it. we'll let you sneak back into the house without waking up your kids. thanks so much for joining us this morning, jon ward from "huffington post" covering the romney campaign. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." jack you're a little boring. boring. boring.

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you've heard bill's views, now let's hear yours. politically direct means no b.s. just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. >> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any >> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any time. this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: okay. yes, on the video barry

mccain says hey bill, i would charge them with a hate crime and see what happens. donald jackson says is there any difference between what the people who made this film did and the kkk burning a cross? there are remedies for creating an atmosphere of fear on hate. on the other side, nothing is done about fox news. even fox news isn't all that bad fred points out that even with a campaign staff to help, mitt fails the 3:00 a.m. test. and we have dear mr. press. shut your pie hole. you are only on because of the kindness of comcast. me and my associates are part of the comcast corporation and if you don't stop your program -- you will be removed from the air permanently. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, good morning everybody. welcome to the full "full court press" here on current tv. good to see you this friday morning, september 14. thank you so much for joining us. to find out and we'll tell you what's happening this morning here in our nation's capital. members of congress, still here today. got some votes scheduled today. passed a continuing resolution yesterday. around the country latest polls, pretty good. for barack obama. around the world the termination -- the determination to track down and find those who

launched those terrorist attacks against our consulate in libya. and mitt romney stepping in it once again with his comments about libya even republicans are saying he looked like a total klutz. and the latest polls show that romney is behind in almost every swing state. are republicans starting to have voter remorse? you bet they are! we'll tell you about that and a whole lot more here on today's "full court press." but we take time out right now to get the latest, today's current news update. here she is. lisa ferguson in los angeles. take it away. >> good morning, everyone. it looks like the government will manage to avoid a shutdown next month. the house came to a bipartisan agreement yesterday to approve a six-month stop gap measure that will keep the government in business into next month and march of next year. the senate does need to vote on the bill next week. we're expecting it to pass. president obama has already expressed his support and so has majority leader harry reid.

let's take a second to note the symbolism of this vote. republicans and democrats came together to pass the bill in the house with 329 members in favor. just a few months ago paul ryan and house g.o.p.es threatened to ruin last year's debt agreement and cut tens of billions of dollars from government programs. but this bill will restore higher spending and does allow labor, health and education to grow by almost $1 billion. on a similar vain, house majority leader eric kantor is admitting cuts to federal spending kills jobs. the republican argument is usually the opposite that less government spending will lead to more jobs and a better economy. if congress cannot reach a deal on the debt ceiling by the end of this year, we'll see an automatic $600 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts. yesterday, kantor tweeted going off a fiscal cliff would hurt education, medical research, law

enforcement, national security and jobs. we are coming up with more bill press after the break. and we're live in chat. current.com/billpress. hour political comedy special. >> republicans. government so small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. >> fox news is like a mecca for people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels.

>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: well, if you're thirsty, you better stay out of new york! not going to let you buy a big soft drink anymore. as of yesterday. hello, everybody. great to see you today. it is friday. friday, september 14. this is the "full court press." coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours. coast-to-coast. from our studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. bringing you the stories of the day. wherever they happen to take

place here in washington, around the country around the globe on the moon, on mars, we got it. and we'll tell you what's going on and give you a chance to talk about it, 1-866-55-press. good to see you today. we start the weekend but not quite -- we got a couple more hours to go before we'll let you go into the weekend. we've got lots and lots to talk about. so it is good to see you today. give us a call at 1-866-55-press. peter ogborn leading the crew this morning. with dan henning who has the day off. phil dockerty is in for dan today and cyprian bowlding, our videographer on the job as always. >> hey there. happy friday. >> bill: you know what? this friday could not come too soon. >> i hear ya. >> bill: big friday. i have my ticket. i've got my car rented. i've got a hotel room. i'm ready for buffalo! coming up to the talking leaves bookstore tonight. come on down.

come on down if you're anywhere in the buffalo area, don't get up there very often so it's a rare chance to say hello -- talk about this big election 2012. signed copies of the paperback of my book, "the obama hate machine." and just have a good time tonight. 7:00, talking leaves bookstore. details on our web site at billpressshow.com. yesterday here in washington, d.c., a very moving and very solemn tribute to the first man -- first man -- first american happened to be an american, neil armstrong to walk on the moon. all of our legendary astronauts were there filling the washington national cathedral magnificent structure that overlooks the entire city of washington. and it was gene certainen the last american to walk on the moon who got to give the eulogy for neil armstrong.

>> no one but no one could have accepted the responsibility of his remarkable accomplishment with more dignity and more grace than neil armstrong. >> bill: pay paying tribute to a real american hero. congresswoman jackie speier will be along later from california. we'll also be talking with two political cartoonists. there is a big con fab of political cartoonists in washington starting today. two of the nation's best, tom tolls from "the washington post" and tom tomorrow from this modern world will be here in studio with us to talk about the importance of political cartooning. we're looking forward to that. we'll also be talking about republican house members' efforts to cut all funding for amtrak. the most successful train service we've ever had. they want to just let it die. like they wanted to let the auto industry die. we'll get into that and a whole lot more. but first... >> this is the "full court

press." >> here's what's making news. unfortunately, bill, there is not an app for this. while most people seem to be positive about the iphone 5 many users are complaining about one thing in particular. the connector. you see, the connector not only charges the phone it serves as dock that connects the phone to speakers or small stereos at home. also, you have car chargers, people use projectors and various things that connect your old phone to the equipment. of course, the new iphone 5 has a smaller and different connector so all of those docks are now outdated. but there is a fix. just buy an adapter. for every product that you use it for. it will only set you back $30. $30 to buy aned a amounter then of course there's one story of a hotel owner who has 600 rooms in his hotel and each room has on iphone dock equipped to play music with the old connector. you do the math. you do the math. >> bill: they get you coming and going. >> they'll nail you, man.

time to get the lead back out. it is not exactly a led zeppelin reunion, we'll see what's left of the band on the big screen. jimmy page and robert plant hopped on stage with jason bonham who killed the shoes of his father, john, the original drummer for the band. the two hour concert included stairway to heaven, cashmere and dazed and confused. they played 19 songs total. they're putting it on the big screen. it was the band's first headlining show in 27 years. they're going to put it in 1500 theatres worldwide. they're going to turn it into a cd and dvd naturally to maximize sales. >> bill: yeah, absolutely. that will. that will be a huge hit. >> i will go see that. i will absolutely go see that. >> at least she's not all bad. mother of the kardashian sisters and mother of the moment of silence, chris jenner is speaking out over her interview where she spoke about her breast implants. she said that she was furious that nbc blew out that moment of silence and paid six reports and

a source close to jenner said kris is a big supporter of the troops. considering that she's mastered the art of tacky self-promotion, i think she will be able to recover and move along from this fairly quickly. >> bill: are you kidding? she loved that. >> damn right she did. >> bill: 12 minutes after the hour now. yes, indeed. well the big change is taking place in new york city. it is a big question about how far the role of government and how far the nanny state should go. you know that last spring it was mayor michael bloomberg said -- now he is a fierce enforcer of what he thinks is not healthy for you. he's gone out after smoking in bars and restaurants. he went out after smoking in front, on the sidewalk in front of bars and restaurants. he's gone out after smoking in central park. can't smoke anywhere in central park the entire park these days nonsmoking. he has banned trans fat in

new york restaurants. he has -- he came up with the idea that mcdonald's -- and other fast food restaurants every restaurant should show how many calories is in each particular product or offering on their menu. that, by the way mcdonald's is going to start doing i think they did this week or they announced this week they're going to start it soon. and now -- the latest last spring was he was going to -- he wanted to ban the sale of any sugary drinks, any sweetened tea or regular coke or coca-cola or pepsi-cola or whatever, dr. pepper, anything bigger than 16 ounces in new york city. yesterday, it was voted on by the city council. and the city council went along with mayor bloomberg so that's it. big gulps banned in new york city. from now on.

michael bloomberg yesterday said we have found the enemy! >> sugary drink consumption is the driver of the obesity epidemic in our city and across the united states. and reducing the amount of sugary drinks that we consume is the simplest diet change that we can make to help lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight. >> bill: michael bloomberg said this is it. we get rid of the drinks, we'll all be healthier. he also said people will live longer. >> this is a single biggest step any city has ever taken to curb obesity. certainly not the last step that lots of cities are going to take. and we believe that it will help save lives. >> bill: save lives make people healthier. michael bloomberg says and besides, we don't want these big 32 ounce drinks because they're hard to carry. >> i don't know if you've ever had a 32 ounce cup. you would have a hard time carrying it.

it's enormous. >> bill: well when you're four feet high -- [ laughter ] i guess i shouldn't make fun of michael bloomberg but he's not that tall. >> he himself is probably 32 ounces. >> bill: i think the idea -- you talk about how unhealthy they are and i get that. and all of that sugar and everything, that's fine. but to ban them because they're too hard to carry i think stretches it. so the real question, i ask you is -- and you know our toll free number. whether this is government too far. and you know, i have to think it is. i really do. i'm a liberal. i'm supposed to want big government to be in our lives in every which way. but first of all this ban -- okay it applies to fast food joints movie houses and broadway theatres. workplace cafeterias and most

other places selling prepared food. so nothing bigger than a 16 ounce drink. but it doesn't cover beverages sold in a supermarket or most convenience stores. so seems to me it is pretty easy to get around, number one. that way. number two, i think it is pretty easy to get around is there's not -- there's no limit on the number of 16 ounce drinks you can buy. >> in other words, they're making it more expensive to drink. >> bill: in other words, i think if you had like one of those little cardboard carriers that they give you at mcdonald's, you could get three. you could have 48 ounces. not that you could ever drink that much. >> hey, i know people who can. >> bill: yeah, i guess so. look there's no doubt that this stuff is not good for you. i don't drink them anymore. but i'll drink a diet coke which

by the way is probably just as bad for me because it has that aspartame or whatever else is in it. i understand the principle. i think it is a matter of approach, isn't it really? like the first lady, i think is on the right track. she's talking about eating healthy, exercising, the whole bit. you know but she's not proposing laws to ban everything that's bad for you. at some point i think the government -- has just got to encourage people to do the right thing but it can't regulate everything. and to me, the soda goes a little too far. which i understand -- i'm torn about it because i've got no problem with seat belts. i've got no problem with motorcycle helmets. i've got no problem with a ban on smoking because i can get your cancer from breathing your smoke. but i'm not going to get your whatever cancer or diabetes or

something from watching you drink this diet coke or this coca-cola, this sugary drink. so it just seems to me that this is -- by the way bloomberg is not a democrat. so you can't blame the democrats for this. he used to be a republican. i think he's now an independent. i think this is one step too far. and you know what, peter, what's next? oh, wait a minute, i forgot. foie gras, they banned that, too, in new york? >> not yet. they tried to in chicago. they're trying it in california. >> bill: they've done it in california. it has kicked in california. you've got foie gras there and now diet -- what's next? candy bars? candy bars. >> there's a lot -- a king size candy bar -- >> bill: sure. by the way -- because once in a

great while i might really feel i need a kicker, right? and i'll look for a milky way or something. you try to find a regular size candy bar these days. [ laughter ] >> bill: seriously have you? >> no. >> bill: you can't. you can't find them. they're all of these monster bars. >> giant candy bars. >> bill: hershey bars, whatever. they're all giant. i just wanted you to know. you know what, here's the deal. you know it as well as i. if bloomberg can get away from it in new york, yeah, pretty soon no big gulps in your town either because other mayors will want to do the same thing. it will be the copycat big gulp laws, mark my words! here it is. i got mine this morning. >> i hope that's 16 ounces. >> bill: don't tell mikey. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show."

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 24 minutes after the hour. friday morning! september 14. well, they were good while they lasted. the big gulps but no longer, michael bloomberg has had his way in new york city. no drink -- can't sell a drink over 16 ounces. a sugary drink. kathy has a comment from pal ois heights, illinois. what do you say? >> caller: hi, bill, how are you? what do you think? >> caller: i flipped on the tv listening to this conversation

you're having about michael bloomberg and i'm usually -- i'm democrat. and this kind of thing, i'm kind of okay with it. >> bill: really? >> caller: it is not really bothering me and i'll tell you why. because we really do have way too many fat people in this country. that's a fact. >> bill: obesity is a real problem in this country. >> caller: it is terrible. it is really, really terrible! and all of this junk that's out there for us to eat and drink so much of it is just no good. and the problem is, i think so many people have just lost -- they don't have any will power. >> bill: i know. kathy, the question is do -- will government and should government ban everything that could make you fat? i don't think so. appreciate the call. it is friday. as you probably know, should

know, friday is when we take a look back at our favorite sound bytes of the week. bring you the top five. start at the bottom. president obama saying here's what mitt romney doesn't understand. when he shoots from the lips. number five. >> there's a broader lesson to be learned here. governor romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later. and as president one of the things i've learned is you can't do that. >> bill: yeah, exactly. he made a fool of himself when he did so, mitt romney. president obama also out on the campaign trail this week. he met a young man from hawaii and he said uh-oh. you know the question they're going to ask you. >> number four. >> obama: were you born in hawaii? >> i was born in hawaii. >> obama: do you have a birth certificate? >> bill: you were born in hawaii? do you have a birth certificate? david akers for the san francisco 49ers an

all-time historic legendary field goal. 63 yards. >> number three. >> kick by akers line drive to the upright to hit the crossbar and bounce over. it's good! oh, my goodness. >> bill: oh, my goodness. you could hear it hit the crossbar. boing. if it had bounced in front it would have been no good but it bounced over. >> three points. >> bill: in tennis if you hit the net and bounce over, it doesn't count. but here it did indeed. kris jenner, mother of the kardashians, of course. she is what her breast implant story is what nbc decided to show instead of the moment of silence on september 11th. here's what that sounded like. >> number two. >> one of the last things we saw was you getting wheeled into a breast enhancement surgery. which i gotta say you guys are all for baring it all but is there ever a time when we can turn the cameras off?

>> i thought it was such a great idea to film that because the reason i went in and did that is because i had had my implants done for 152 years a long time. >> bill: blah, blah, blah, blah blah. let me tell you about my breast implants. jerry brown may be 74 years old right now but i'll tell you one thing, he knows that he could outrun chris christie any time! >> number one. >> i challenge you to a three mile race. try some chinups maybe and some pushups. >> you're saying he's overweight. >> no. essentially says this old retread can beat you any day of the week. >> bill:. [ laughter ] i gotta tell you speaking about big gulps yeah, maybe chris christie ought to have a few fewer big gulps. maybe michael bloomberg can extend that ban to northern new jersey. yeah. it could help out chris christie. we'll tell you about amtrak. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

(vo) current tv presents, a one hour political comedy special. >> republicans. government so small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. >> fox news is like a mecca for people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels.

>> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. friday, september 14. this is the "full court press." we are coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours. coast-to-coast. on current tv. of course. on your local progressive talk radio station. coming to you from our studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. brought to you today by afscme. the good men and women of afscme under our new president their new president lee saunders. the largest public employee and

healthcare worker's union in the entire country. for more information, go to their web site at www.afscme.com. www.afscme.org. some political news this morning to let you know. nbc and "wall street journal" out with their latest poll showing that president obama's frequent visits to the swing states is paying off! in florida virginia and colorado, president obama with a 5-point lead over mitt romney coming out of the convention, of course. and in ohio, critical, critical, essential swing state of ohio, the president with a 7-point lead over mitt romney. maybe no wonder you see mitt romney doing some of the dumb things he's doing. getting desperate to try to make a difference and turn this thing around. one issue that we don't talk a

lot about but very, very important issue is public transportation. particularly rail and particularly amtrak. it is a big issue in front of the congress and a big battle over funding for amtrak. ed is the president of the transportation trades department of the afl-cio joining us in studio this morning. hi ed. let me ask you to get closer to that microphone there. so first i'm a huge amtrak fan. i love the acela express. i would not consider going to new york by plane. it is a pain in the ass to deal with all of the security. hop on amtrak, you're there in two hours and 45 minutes. so that's me. but overall how is amtrak doing? >> amtrak's doing incredibly. it's breaking -- every month is breaking the record for ridership. there's now almost 31 million people that take the train. if you look at public opinion

polling, more people want to take trains and as a result, i don't understand why there's all of this toxicity on capitol hill about whether we should keep it around or not. >> bill: is this route -- by the way congressman, member of congress friend of mine that i got together with in charlotte at the convention, he and his staff actually took the train to charlotte, north carolina. >> absolutely. >> bill: from washington, d.c. >> you can travel across america on amtrak. >> bill: right. so there's the cross-country stuff. i know -- i used to take the los angeles-san diego train often. which is a beautiful, beautiful ride. is this boston-washington corridor the most popular? >> it's the most popular and one of the most important corridors in the country. if you looked at some of the most important corridors in the world, it is d.c. to boston. primarily because it is 20% of our gdp in the northeast corner, only 2% of our land. if you try to crowd more cars on

95 or jam more aircraft into airports that are already congested, you create a parking lot if you didn't have amtrak. you would never know when you talk to some on capitol hill. they don't seem to understand that. >> bill: you've got all of the business from -- coming down to new york from boston. from new york, boston, philadelphia and everything to washington right? for the government here. the financial center in new york and a lot of people from washington to new york for either just to enjoy a good weekend, see some good theatre but during the week, a lot of businessmen up there for deals on wall street. >> the only thing missing is enough infrastructure investment to make the trains go faster. that's the issue for america. how do you make the trains travel at the speeds we see in europe and asia which is really the challenge ahead. >> bill: all right. so given that, what are the funding needs for amtrak and what is the buzz saw in congress you're running into?

>> well, the funding needs. they need billions to reinvest in not only the infrastructures that you can ride faster trains, they need, of course, the new state-of-the-art next generation trains to roll there. but in congress, there's attempts to get rid of amtrak. privatize it and give it to the private sector which assures one thing. which is amtrak, as we know it will disappear and what you'll do is you'll create this sort of -- these thiefdoms where they'll make money where they can and the rest of the money will disappear. >> bill: just get rid of amtrak altogether and turn over to some new transportation company? >> there's think in infatuation with richard branson who runs a few trains around the world. richard branson only does one thing really well which is make money for richard branson. this idea he will come into america and give us what we need -- >> bill: he's done a good job

with virgin atlantic and virgin america. >> he's good with building a brand but it is not the model we need this country for one reason, amtrak is a national system. not all parts of the amtrak system are going to be financially successful. but it all supports itself so you can keep a national network going and some on capitol hill just want to privatize it. mitt romney wants it zeroed out of all of the things you could do with the federal budget, that's the one program he identified that would completely disappear under a romney administration. >> bill: amtrak. >> no more subsidies for it. >> bill: so sort of contradictory though right? get rid of the auto industry. let the american auto industry fail. and also get rid of amtrak. >> yeah. >> bill: what do you want us to do? bike? >> it appears -- >> bill: horseback? >> maybe he thinks everyone has three or four cars at home with a car elevator. that's his view of america that everyone has what he has and unfortunately, they don't.

>> bill: i don't know so this is maybe a dumb question but if you look at these super trains in japan the super trains in china which i've never taken but china's building vast miles of new ones but i have taken the train in france. incredible trains. throughout europe. those are government-run trains, aren't they? >> absolutely. some models around the world they'll have a "contractor" come in and run it but this idea that they make money is laughable because the infrastructure on which it runs is paid for by the taxpayer there. it is real simple and it costs billions to build it and to maintain it. china, you mentioned they're out innovating us in ways you can't imagine. they've got factories with engineers in them. all they do all day is try to figure out how to make the trains go faster. we've read recently, they have a prototype they're working on that will hit 300 miles per hour. >> bill: whoa! >> it is a joke. we're completely falling behind.

i don't know if you've had a chance to read anything i've said over the last three months but up on capitol hill, they think all of these marvelous things we built in this country fell out of the sky and that we didn't actually spend public resources to build them up. >> bill: was it president lincoln who was responsible for the transcontinental railroad during the civil war correct? >> yes. amtrak was created by that liberal, richard nixon. he signed into law. this is not where democrats push for something and republicans oppose it. the public mass transit program which is the one that serves all of the urban transit systems in maker, that program was signed into law by ronald reagan. >> bill: it really gets -- a couple -- first of all, it really gets, doesn't it, to this attempt on the part of republicans, government had nothing to do with their success. they built it. ridiculing the point president obama was trying to make that anybody who has been successful in this country has benefitted

from public investment, public infrastructure, it does take a village, right? this gets to that point. >> it absolutely does. if you listen to the words that came out of the president's mouth that ran -- that created this whole republican theme of course, a good teacher helped you along the way! of course a road and bridge helped you along the way. i said publicly in an appearance i made a few months ago, no one's questioned whether bill gates is an incredible innovator but the roads and bridges around his business, the public health system that his employees use the urban trafnsity systems in -- transit systems that his employees use he didn't build those. the public did. >> bill: sure. >> it doesn't have anything to do with he's an incredible innovate they're built an amazing company. of course it takes a village. >> bill: ed is the head of the afl-cio fighting the good fight on behalf of amtrak and public transportation anywhere around

the country. you've seen this, i'm sure, these problems and these debates in your local community. give us a call at 1-866-55-press quick question before we go into the break, ed. take some calls when we come back. back to this richard branson thing. so if they were to turn amtrak loose and let him buy it, he would still be running it then on the rails that we paid to build. correct? >> you got it. yeah. he would. he would get the "franchise," someone like him could get the franchise. he would only bids on the parts of the franchise that can help him make money. he doesn't have to be responsible. >> bill: his own rails or track. >> no. the public would have to do that. >> bill: there we go again. >> sounds familiar, doesn't it? >> bill: it sure does. 1-866-55-press. let's save amtrak and all public transportation around the country. we need more of it. not less. we'll be right back with ed.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: congresswoman jackie speier from california will be joining us at the top of the next hour here on "full court press." we're visiting now with ed who is the head of the transportation trades department of the afl-cio. talking amtrak. ed you have testified in front

of congress on this issue. so in front of -- the budget committee? >> the transportation and infrastructure committee. >> bill: transportation and infrastructure. what do republicans say about this? they just don't care? it's important but we don't have the money? private sector can do it better? >> all of the above. it is all of the above. you know, we need to do more with less. that's their standard line. >> bill: i just remembered. didn't paul ryan in his speech in tampa talk about his mother had to take four buses to get to -- >> correct. >> bill: her college classes or classes she was taking? >> he did. >> bill: who do you think ran those buses? >> exactly. and by the way governor christie while he was insulting half of the country during his speech, paused to mention the bus that his mother rode as well. and governor christie's responsible for one thing and will be remembered for one thing with our membership, he killed the most robust infrastructure

project in america. he killed a large tunnel under the hudson river. that's huge for the northeast economy. huge. >> bill: yeah. the idea that right now as i understand it, going into new york from new jersey, there's one tunnel with one-track in each direction. isn't that correct? >> a train comes flying out of the tunnel every 90 seconds. >> bill: unbelievable. >> our dispatchers handle those trains but we can't handle them -- >> bill: i remember talking to secretary ray lahood about that. this was a project where the feds -- we were putting up most of the money the federal government. new jersey had to put up a chair and chris christie killed it. >> their unemployment is almost 10%. tens of thousands of people would have worked in new jersey on that project. >> let's say hello to lon. >> caller: good morning, bill. i like your show very very much and will be voting for our fine president come november. >> bill: appreciate that. >> caller: what i wanted to say is i have worked with the railroad company retired for 36

years and it is very difficult for amtrak to go out and purchase track. they run on a class one railroad csx primarily and bnsf and that makes it a little bit more difficult to purchase land to lay track and all of that because the class one railroads really, to be frank with you in western nebraska, north platte, nebraska has the largest yard in the world bailey yard. they want to run coal trains and freight. so it makes it a little bit difficult for them to be able to go out and do exactly what they want to do because all of the lines that they run on with the exception of the northeast corridor are owned by union pacific and railroads such as that. >> bill: all right lon. important information. is he correct? >> oh, absolutely. he couldn't be more correct. amtrak controls its right-of-way on the northeast corridor and other spots across the country. the rest of the system is relying on the freight railroads and frankly their partnership

with the freights has gotten better. on-time performance best we've ever seen. the caller is completely right. they rely on the freights and the freight is in the business of moving things like coal trains so it is a difficult partnership but it is one you try to make the best of. >> bill: how does that translate into like real time? meaning if -- if there's a conflict between getting the coal train through or getting the passenger train through the passenger training is going to -- the passenger train is going to go on the side? >> it depends when and they try to schedule in a way to avoid these peak choke points but yeah, you're going to run into situations where because of delays, you've got trains literally running on top of each other. it is a delicate dispatching responsibility but more to the point, it shows you what we need to do in this country. we need to pump more money into right-of-way and we need to make the investment robust, long-term so that you can truly speed up the trains on those rights of way. >> bill: are we really going to get high-speed rail in this

country? >> depends on who you ask. if you ask -- if you ask passengers, they want more trains. but we've got this same old problem on capitol hill. as you know, they've turned high-speed rail -- if obama's for it, they're against it. even though their own constituents want it. >> bill: perry is calling from harrisburg pennsylvania. hi perry, good morning. >> caller: good morning,. >> bill:. good morning ed. afl-cio brother. you know where my vote is going in the fall. i wanted to chime in, you mentioned china earlier. and i had lived in china for about four years or so. and i did take the high-speed rail from the international airport to the domestic airport. the first high-speed rail that was active in china. and i tell you bill, it was smooth. i was absolutely impressed. absolutely just blown away by the level of engineering that

was there. and to think that a supposed developing country had something like that and the united states, a supposed leader in the world doesn't have high-speed rail between cities like new york, boston philadelphia, d.c., it is kind of disappointing. >> bill: i appreciate the comment. i just want to get a comment from ed on that, too. we're behind in a lot of -- it is matter of what you make a priority right? >> no doubt. we're badly behind and china you know i give them a lot of credit. they see the economic strategic significance of having fast trains. and to their credit, they've pumped billions of dollars into that infrastructure and we're still dabbling in a few dollars here and it is sort of a joke to see what we can do here. we've got some trains that unfortunately travel 60, 70, 75 miles per hour and like i said, they're trying to build 200 250, 300-mile-per-hour train systems there and they're leaving us behind. >> bill: oh, man i gotta tell you, very, very important issue.

i'm glad somebody's out there fighting the good fight. edward, you're doing it for the transportation trains department. you can follow their work at ttd.org. i'll be back and tell what you the president's going to be up to today. ed, thanks so much for coming in. >> enjoyed it. >> bill: thanks for what you're doing. >> appreciate it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv.

13 current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: you bet it is! president obama back at the white house with a busy schedule today. he and the vice president will

get their daily briefing in the oval office at 9:25 a.m. after which time the president and the first lady go out to the south lawn to welcome the 2012 u.s. olympic and paralympic teams to the white house. a big ceremony there on the south lawn of the white house. at 12:30 the president and the vice president meet for their weekly lunch. and then this evening president obama, a fund-raiser here in washington, d.c. at a private residence. jay carney, press secretary will be holding his no longer daily but friday at least press briefing at 11:15 a.m. and i will be there. congresswoman jackie speier joins us at the top of the next hour on the "full court press." good reason for staying right there. >> announcer: this is the "bill

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey what do you say? it's friday. friday, september 14. good to see you today. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. your spot to find out what's happening today here in washington, d.c. all across this great land of ours and around the globe. we'll tell you what's going on and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. and here's the news. if part of the news, if you're thirsty, stay away from new york city. thanks to mayor michael

bloomberg from now on, restaurants cannot sell anything bigger than a 16 ounce soda. that means no more gig gulp. -- big gulp but is this the nanny state going too far? i think so. we'll talk about that and a whole lot of other stuff. first, we get the latest. today's current news update. lisa ferguson standing by in los angeles. hi lisa. good morning. >> hey bill. good morning everyone. kansas secretary of state chris coback is taking the birther conspiracy to a new level. the topeka capital journal is reporting that coback is thinking of removing president obama from the kansas ballot in november because he does not have sufficient evidence on mr. obama's birth certificate. coback is an informal advisor to mitt romney and he's also a member of the kansas state objections board. along with attorney general derek schmidt and lieutenant-governor jeff collier. all three are republicans. the board is sending records

requests to arizona ha weiee and mississippi for more information on president obama's birth certificate. and says he'll take up the issue again on monday. it is interesting to note that president obama's mom is a kansas native. the romney campaign is releasing a new online tool today comparing each state's economy under president obama to what it would be under a president romney. we took a look and not surprisingly it says that every state would be better off under the romney/ryan plan. but the campaign press release gives absolutely no information on where it's's getting its data and neither does the web site. and in the push for more donors, mitt romney's campaign is giving away a trip on his charter plane. that in itself is not too out of the ordinary but here's what is. ann romney named the plane hair force i back in december. obviously in hon he were of her husband. mitt romney says maybe whoever wins the contest will be able to think of a better name.

more bill press is coming up after the break. stay with us. (vo) current tv presents, a one hour political comedy special. >> republicans. government so small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels. so, you guys grew up together. yes, since third grade... what are you lookin' at? not looking at i anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better? [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: okay. it's done. mayor bloomberg won. no more big gulps in new york from now on starting today. you can still buy two 16 ounces. good morning everybody. it is friday, september 14. good to see you today. welcome. thanks for joining us here on the "full court press." we're coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours on your local progressive talk radio station if you're lucky enough to have one and on current tv.

which is there for everybody. everywhere this great land of ours, thanks for joining us. we'll tell you what's happening and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. and to help us through the big news of the day a good friend of ours, representing california's 12th congressional district, the south bay congresswoman jackie speier. good to see you, congresswoman. >> great to be with you, bill. >> bill: thanks for coming in. good to you have back. you're sort of in the neighborhood. >> yeah. i am in the neighborhood actually. >> bill: we like it. the hill. >> the hill. >> bill: it is like a tribe. >> that's right. >> bill: we hillites here. and there's a lot going on. i was glad to see that at least the congress did something yesterday right. continuing resolution. >> for six months. >> bill: for six months. that's all we can muster, you know. >> bill: which is what? a cheap substitute for a budget? >> i don't know if it is a cheap substitute right?

we hobble along. we kick that can down the road. only thing we're good at is kicking the can down the road. no matter what the issue is. >> bill: on this -- this just keeps -- i hear that phrase, most people don't understand that, just keeps the lights on. >> that's right. it keeps the budget that was sort of there before. running. >> bill: how long has it been since congress passed a budget? >> three or four years. three or four years. >> bill: thank you, john boehner. so we'll be talking libya military trauma and other issues with congresswoman jackie speier here. later in the hour, we're going to be joined, congresswoman by two cartoonists. there is a confab of political cartoonists in washington today. they will be joining us as well joe biden, vice president was

out on the campaign trail yesterday. talking about -- this is something that is so true. how the republican party -- and you've seen it up close. how the republican party has changed. here's the vice president. >> this is not your father's republican party. as a matter of fact, it is not even mitt romney's father's republican party. >> bill: it's not is it? >> no, it's not. in fact, the republican party has really been made hostage from the tea party and those to the extreme right. reagan president reagan would not be invited into the party today. kinds of things he did in california, the kinds of things he did as president -- >> bill: you're right. ronald reagan. he raised taxes. >> that's right. >> bill: wouldn't it be funny if it was. ronald reagan tried to win a primary against a tea party candidate. we'll get into all of the big issues of the day. first, peter is standing by with

the real top stories. >> yes indeed. here's what's making news. one business hopes that the baby business is booming. several danish day care facilities have a novel idea to create new customers. what they're doing iser this they're allowing parents to use free day care for two hours in the evening. the idea is for parents to go out on a date night and any good date night leads to -- well, maybe more babies. which means more paying customers for the day care. one of the owners explains without money we can't look after the children well and if there aren't enough children, then there aren't enough jobs for our workers. you could call this a stimulus plan. thank you congresswoman! yes, indeed. >> bill: i'm telling you very creative though. gotta say. they depend on more babies. not enough babies coming in the pipeline. >> when there was the earthquake in california, whenever there's serious situations that create an environment where you stay home -- >> power outages we have a

spike. >> nine months later. >> america's got talent has a winner. we saw the finale last night of the show. marking the end of the first season with new judge howard stern. after heated discussions, the winners were announced. the winners were olatti dogs, father/son trainer richard and nicholas ola it, ti. they have taken in dogs and trained them to do amazing pet tricks. you'll have to go see it. the runner-up was stand-up comic tom kotter. >> bill: i'm old enough to remember when they would have variety shows on television and dog acts. i never thought we would get back to the day where a dog act would be considered the best talent in this country. >> we're very retro. you think about everything going back. >> speaking of retro it might be time to get the lead back out. while it is not exactly a led

zeppelin reunion we'll see what's left of the band on the big screen. in 2007, jimmy page and robert plant got on stage with jason bonham, the drummer who filled the shoes of his father, john, the original drummer for the band. the two hour concert included stairway to heaven, cashmere and dazed and confused among 19 other songs. it was the band's first headlining show in 27 years and they're going to put it into 1500 theatres worldwide and thin, of course, they're going to turn it into a cd and a dvd to maximize the sales as best as they can. >> bill: that will be huge. >> i will be to watch that. it will be a big deal. >> baby boomers will eat it up. >> bill: here we go again. absolutely. all right. 12 minutes after the hour. congresswoman, you, i know, have been following, as most of us have the tragic events, particularly in libya the protests in egypt. what do we know about this? does it appear to you and word in congress this was in fact a

planned act of terrorism against the united states? >> the libyan attack appears to have been planned premeditated and linked to al-qaeda. that's as much as we know. if you're not on the intelligence committee, you don't get the real deal. but that's what we know so far. >> bill: and when president obama says we're determined we're going to find these people, we're going to find out who they are and track them down and get them, it seems to me, given his past record he means it. >> he means it. we've already seen some arrests take place of those that were affiliated with that. so i think that the intelligence on the ground will be effective and that we will. >> bill: it is a time like this, sort of a mini 9-11 that you will, that it happened on 9-11, how the entire country republicans and democrats liberals conservatives everybody pulled together after 9-11 and shock and sorrow and in anger and determination.

and you would expect the same reaction in the response to this terrorist attack which i think we got just about uniformly except from mitt romney. right? who chose it as a moment, instead, to accuse president obama of siding with al-qaeda. siding with the terrorists. >> it was a -- a stunning blow, i think to his campaign. i think it will probably historically go down as a turning point in this campaign. i mean when you couple it with him alienating our closest allies in britain during the olympics then he goes to israel and you know, launches an attack on the palestinians and then home again and finds a way to divide this country and somehow suggest really, the extreme. he's not presidential. sort of like you don't have judicial temperament. he doesn't have presidential temperament. >> bill: the nbc "wall street

journal" is out with its latest poll looking at these national polls where they always say everything is tied are meaningless but they looked at what really counts, the swing states. >> and the swing voters. >> bill: and the swing voters, right. in florida virginia, colorado, president obama is up 5 points. in ohio, he's up 7 points. >> and among women in those states, it is several digits. >> bill: is that right? >> it is double digit. >> bill: probably in every one of them. any fellow republicans any or not fellow but your republican colleagues in the house expressing any buyer's remorse these days? >> well, they're not going to tell me that they've got buyer's remorse at this point but i think you can feel -- there is an energy that exists on the house floor among democrats versus the republicans. you can feel that the balloon is just starting to deflate. you just sense it. >> bill: by the way that buyer's remorse is the subject of my latest column up on our

web site at billpressshow.com. many republicans expressing big time buyer's remorse over mitt romney. check out the column. speaking of the house floor you and i were together a little bit last night. a farewell party for congresswoman lynn wolsey who is our congresswoman from california. she has decided to leave the house. and done a great job. >> after 20 years. >> bill: 20 years. cochair of the progressive caucus. you remember she and barbara lee and maxine waters went around the country trying to build opposition to the war in iraq. >> right. >> bill: and at that party last night, i heard that there was -- a lot of excitement on the floor yesterday when paul ryan showed up. for the first time. right? what was that like? >> i actually was not engaged in the talking that went on or the

secret service that was there. but you know, he becomes a hero of the republican caucus. and great for them. let's really define the difference. >> bill: they gave a standing ovation when he came in. here's our hero, the guy who's going to save us. charlie wrangle told me last night that he went up -- when they were all applauding, that he walked up, too. and applauded. they said what are you doing? he said i just want to thank you. thank you for the democrats and the democratic party thanks you. i thank you. our country thanks you because you have made medicare the issue in this campaign. >> that's right. >> bill: really has. >> they cannot win. they're trying to walk back the voucher language. but you know, $6,000 more coming out of the pockets of seniors every single year just out of pharmaceutical costs is huge. >> bill: i love joe biden

calling it voucher care. that's what they turn it into. the last time you were in congresswoman, we talked about this issue that you have raised that is so important military sexual trauma. it has more people are talking about it now. it's really gotten more attention now. what's the latest? what can you do? what can be done? >> there's been another scandal in lackland air force base in texas. 17 instructors are now under investigation with 43 victims because these instructors have either engaged in improper conduct in taking trainees, you take your trainee, it is like a teacher taking a student and sexually assaulting them. or luring them into a relationship. so it is -- >> bill: are these members of the military? >> these are members of the military. >> bill: who are under investigation. >> who are under -- one has been

court-martialed and found to be guilty. another one has plea bargained. and there is more to come. but it really raises a huge question. what is going on that allows this kind of conduct? to proliferate? i mean when you're told as a trainee, meet me in the laundry room and they show up in the laundry room and then they're told to do a sexual act to their trainer, you do the sexual act because they're the boss. they're in charge of you. you do everything they say. in fact, one of the trainees says there's no question mark after they make a statement. >> bill: well is this -- are these crimes being -- they're crimes, right if they're forced -- >> they're felonies. >> bill: are they being -- are they not being reported or are they being reported and there's

no discipline on the part of the military? >> here's the problem. they aren't being reported because -- >> bill: why not? >> what happens when you report for most of these victims is they become pariahs. it affects the unit morale and the cohesiveness and you're seen as a traitor and the result is they typically are labeled as personality -- having a personality disorder and are involuntarily, involuntarily honorably discharged. if you want a career in the military you don't talk about it. you don't report it. >> bill: some of them must be reported or you wouldn't know about it, right? >> there was one case. >> bill: sounds like the pentagon is also not very quick to move in on this thing. >> of the 43 victims, only one of them reported it. >> bill: wow! what can be done here? >> well, i have a bill that would literally take this

reporting function and the investigation and prosecution out of the chain of command. as long as it continues to be in the chain of command you know, oftentimes the predators -- >> bill: independent investigator. >> you don't have this idea of what are called water walkers. if you're a water walker, are you a soldier that is so critical to the cause that it is a mitigating factor. and you're not going to -- you may get nonjudicial punishment. can you imagine you commit a felony and the military allows for what's called nonjudicial punishment. you can go clean latrines for a couple of weeks. >> bill: imagine if that applied in the private sector, it would never be accepted. >> that's right. >> bill: congresswoman jackie speier our guest. your calls for questions. remember about any issue. she's used to it. about libya about this military sexual trauma issue she's been taking the lead on.

take advantage of the opportunity at 1-866-55-press. on the "full court press" this friday. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels. (vo) current tv presents, a one hour political comedy special. >> republicans. government so small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. >> fox news is like a mecca for people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels.

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congresswoman jackie speier is in studio with us. she represents california's 12th congressional district. long-time friend and it is good to you have back in the studio. >> thank you. >> bill: congresswoman, we were chatting during the break about now -- today's a big day for me, okay, because i can preorder my new iphone 5 today. i've been living along with this iphone 3 for a long time. >> look at his rubber band on his iphone. >> bill: before the day is out -- >> you're ordering the new connector set because none of your connections are going to work with it. >> bill: i'm going to have to. i know that. and i'm going to order it online. so this raises the issue of online sales tax. we've got just about a minute left. am i going to have to pay an on-line sales tax? >> are you not going to pay an online sales tax unless you have it delivered in california at your california address because as of today in california, that is the situation. what we have nationwide is while

we all owe sales tax on our retail purchases online, for the most part, it is not collected by the retailer. and so it is up to us as individuals to pay that sales tax on our state income tax return or quarterly or monthly depending on what state -- >> bill: which nobody does. >> 1% of the population actually pays the sales tax they're required to pay on an internet sale. >> bill: if we gave it to all states, how much income would that be for states? >> $23 billion. >> bill: wow. >> you've got republican governors across the country now supporting legislation that would authorize states to require internet retailers to collect the sales tax. and why put the burden on the purchaser? on the customer? and it creates an unlevel playing field. >> bill: thanks so much for coming in. great to see you. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> announcer: this is the "full >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: here we are. 33 minutes after the hour now. what do you say on a friday. friday september 14. great to be with you today. and thank you for joining us. we're coming to you live from our studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. brought to you today by the laborers international union of north america the good men and women of the laborers union under terry o'sullivan, creating and building a better america. check it out at iluna.org.

it is a big day here in washington d.c. there are always different celebrations or gatherings in washington, d.c. today is a very special one. a festival at george washington university. a festival celebrating the political cartoon. where would we be without political cartoons? we wouldn't understand our politics as well as we do and we wouldn't have so much fun going online every day. two of the nation's best are in studio with us this morning. tom tolls is a political cartoonist from "the washington post." hi, tom, nice to see you. nice to meet you. >> thank you. >> bill: see you every morning but never have seen you in the flesh. move that microphone a little closer to you. dan perkins is otherwise known as tom tomorrow or -- tom tomorrow otherwise known as dan perkins depending on your perspective and the modern world. his work you've seen in the nation and new yorker. daily coast. kind of you name it.

>> exactly. >> bill: so what's the biggest challenge, tom -- let me start with you. i'm going to call you dan. >> that would be less confusing. >> the dueling toms. >> i'll be tom today. >> okay. >> bill: what's the biggest challenge every day? is it figuring out what are the many things to write about or talk about? >> that's maybe the second biggest. the biggest challenge is the nature of political cartooning. when people look at political cartoons for is the distillation. a cartoon historically and still is trying to capture the essence and make it clear. and there's lot of different ways to do that. dan does it in a more expository form with lacerating satire. i tend to do something a little simpler, a little ryer but the point and the difficult part is making it clear.

getting what's all all of the fog out there, clearing it out and making it understandable. >> bill: yeah. there is a big difference between your cartoons which are simplistic -- >> you can use that word. >> bill: i don't mean it in a bad way. >> even the word cartoon is often considered a bad word but we're stuck with these. >> bill: few words and a powerful image and dan -- >> i make up for my shortcomings by -- >> bill: a lot of satire and a lot of words. you really -- and follow it. >> for all of the words. >> bill: but it is a different approach. so what works -- >> well, to follow up on what he's saying, even though i do have a lot of words in the cartoon it is a merit of editing down -- it is a matter of editing down, capturing the issue as he says. i try to write so that someone who has no idea what i'm talking about will still understand what i'm talking about by the time

they're done with the cartoon so to have explanations set up and joke all within, you know, four or six panels is actually a very -- i don't think people understand how much work it is to trim down the words to get them to the minimal point they are. >> bill: yeah. you do one every day right? >> yes. >> one a week. [ laughter ] >> bill: now i have to tell you, so i'm a huge fan of political cartoons, okay? and i have a lot of them at home that i have bought over the years or received from friends over the years. i brought a couple in today to share with you. okay? here we go. i may go off mic here for a second. >> if anybody has ever been to bill's house, it is filled with political cartoons in every corner of the house. >> i should have brought a gift but he didn't ask for mine.

>> bill: paul conrad, great cartoonist. >> "l.a. times." >> okay. >> bill: here's favorite one of mine. ronald reagan and -- this is more your style, tom toles. i've never worn makeup. >> let me just comment -- it couldn't be simpler. i just have to comment on conrad's drawing style. he had a bold, just powerful line. >> bill: can you see it, cyprian? >> that works -- that's his opening -- his introductory card is his powerful drawing style. and here again he takes -- he takes a spoken part of actual history and turns it on its head with the cartoon which reveals the hidden meaning behind what would have struck somebody else as just a throw away line.

>> bill: he did wear makeup. he wore makeup and he wore hair coloring. >> i'm shocked to learn that! [ laughter ] >> bill: in a sense no matter how many essays or magazine articles or books that you would write, this is just powerful as you can make it. that's the power of political cartoon. you can have as much influence with one little -- box or, dan series of boxes right that anybody could have with a piece. >> that's why the art form exists. >> bill: one more. a personal friend of mine and i with all due respect -- >> don't say it. i can see from the look -- >> bill: i think he's the best political cartoonist in the country today. >> i have to go. >> bill: i'm talking about pat

olefan. this is a few years back. the priest abuse scandal. and pat did this one -- >> you've got that -- that's not the original. >> bill: this is one of 20. >> that's one of his most famous cartoons. >> bill: the originals of pat's go to the smithsonian institute. susan conway his wife set that up with them. and then they pull 20 signed of the best ones. >> you've got one of his like marker cartoons. >> that's a strong cartoon. >> bill: this is the running of the altar boys. you can see the priest running down the steps of the church running after the altar boys and you might look at the name of the church. st. pedophilia's. >> i'm very familiar with it. every cartoonist is familiar with that cartoon. >> bill: yeah. but again, you know, this says it all doesn't it? >> yeah. olefant, you're right. he's one of history's great cartoonists, he was the water

shed cartoonist in the 20th century. he marked a stylistic transition from sort of the -- well, everything that came up to like 1960 and everything after change because of pat olefant. >> bill: influence you too dan? >> well, not directly. i was more influenced by jewels pfeiffer and jerry trudeau and you know, the people who were more -- more word-oriented. >> bill: sure. yeah. also incredibly gifted people. >> for my little segment of the political cartooning world jules pfeiffer is the one who carved out the ground and made it all possible. >> bill: i'm flashing back now on all of the jules pfeiffer ones that i remember, as well. do you get much reaction from your -- i mean i get a lot of hail mail. do -- a lot of hate mail. do you? >> we were just kind of

discussing this last night. i think satire is about being honest and i think that means that when something bothers you none of us are unbiased. we have our opinions. that's why we're in this job. but when your own side is doing things you strongly disagree with, i feel that if you're an honest at satirist, you comment on that. it is a cliche to say it but i get the hate mail from the crazy right wing but also a got of grief from democrats and liberals. >> bill: can't win for losing, tom? >> to me, i -- yes and there's probably more of it now. it is easier -- >> with the election seven weeks away, this is crazy time. >> but the internet has given a very fluid avenue for people to express their opinions so yes. but see, i actually -- >> bill: has it ever. >> what a kind way of putting

it. >> i -- a lot of people are engaged when they write commentary online. their agenda is to try to come up with a formulation of words that will wound you personally to the greatest possible degree. not to like comment on -- >> bill: tell me about it. not -- >> not to comment but you ignore those. there are a lot of people who want to discuss the issue one way or another and even if they're really on the other side, i just am really happy when people like will write to me and say i got this all wrong. i got the subject all wrong and here's why. that's -- to me, that's what it's all about. >> bill: yeah. you mean a thoughtful commentary. >> in that category. >> bill: i'm waiting -- [ laughter ] >> where is this alternate universe in which you reside? the thoughtful internet.

[ laughter ] >> bill: i'm waiting for my first thoughtful e-mail. >> actually, i don't want to be unfair. i get a lot of fantastic supportive wonderful e-mail from people. i don't want to downplay that. you just -- as a human being you tend to focus on the negative. >> bill: it is the dueling toms here, political cartoonists. tom toles and tom tomorrow otherwise known as dan perkins. and i'm bill press. we'll be right back and continue our conversation about the festival celebrating the political cartoon. action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy.

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>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: boil it down like nobody else can. with their zingers every day. the political cartoonists of this country, two of the nation's best in studio here with us. tom toles from "the washington post" and dan perkins, you know him as tom tomorrow from daily coast i guess is where -- >> it is a flagship sign online. >> bill: unusual that an online would have -- that a blog would have its own cartoonist. >> i'm trying to break new ground there. i brought a lot of cartoonists in with me because the transition for print to digital has not been kind to cartoonists. and what a lot of things have migrated online, the sort of traditional cartoon spot has not really migrated online. so i'm trying to rewrite the rules and you know, it is a

battle. there's a -- there's a tension between advocacy and satire and satire does not always have the same goals as advocacy so when you're running on a site that's dedicated to you know, specific political advocacy, there's some tension there. but you know, have to give kudos to the founder who is a huge fan of this art form and wants it to survive. >> bill: john richards, friend of mine from santa fe does cartoons for "the huffington post." he's on that side. tom, i want to ask you times did you submit something and the editor says oh, no we're not going to run this? >> virtually none. quite a ways back -- >> bill: do you have to agree with the editorial message of the newspaper? >> that would also be a no. two newspapers back, i had a

publisher that, on his own offered me pretty close to full freedom editorially to state any opinion i wanted within the confines of what a daily newspaper will run. and every job the only two other jobs i've had since then, i've insisted that i had that otherwise i wasn't going to take the job because once i had that, i wasn't going to ever go back because that's when the cartoons became real cartoons. the work i had done before that, it looked like a cartoon. it filled the space. it functioned sort of like one but it wasn't doing the job that a cartoon needs to do which is to vigorously express a genuinely held opinion. when i came to the "washington post," it was the same story but luckily here, i mean her block had so firmly entrenched that tradition that really did not become much of an issue at all. but it's so vital that a cartoonist be able to say what he thinks.

>> bill: the great herb block who was your predecessor at the "washington post." how about you dan? daily coast is one of the premiere liberal blogs. so did you have to sign a loyalty oath? >> no. i actually had these conversations with marcos before agreeing to go over there. it is a bit of a different situation because they are a site running my syndicated work and the work of eight or nine other cartoonists so it's my premiere outlet online and i'm very involved with the cartooning section and trying to keep it going but i'm not drawing cartoons for the daily coast. the daily coast is running the cartoons that i write that run in a lot of different places. if you see the distinction there. it is not exactly the same thing. so it's not quite a question of editorial independence because there's no editorial control to begin with. >> bill: i'm curious about this festival celebrating the political cartoon. i mean it's not like there will

be thousands and thousands of you. there are not a lot of political cartoonists out there. >> it is an endangered species for sure. >> we're hoping for a preserve where we can breed and repopulate. >> a sanctuary. >> bill: is that what this is? >> it's an art form and it's -- often an unrecognized and unappreciated art form because it is carrying this label cartoon which people think of that as -- in a dismissive sort of way. and -- >> bill: what should it be? >> i'm fine. it doesn't matter what they call it. >> i'm married to an academic so whenever i say the question is academic my wife says yes and it is very cartoonish. these are the two professions that are just dismissed out of

hand. >> bill: yeah, right. >> to me, it doesn't matter. but what people don't appreciate is how loved they are. i mean now that they're online, i mean they're not paying as well but people who count what people look at -- they're the most popular -- >> the cartoon section, as controversial as it can be is the thing that gets the most outside traffic on daily coast. it is huge. my social media numbers are in the 5,000 10,000 every week. these are huge numbers for stuff online. those are just the shares, not the traffic. >> bill: you know what? there's no doubt about it. there are a lot of people who pick up "the washington post" in the morning and they will look at your cartoon before they look at the front page. >> they'll say that's what they look at first. they'll start with my cartoon then see what else is going on in the world. >> bill: again -- i was just going to say because both of you and your -- the others in the

group hug, you know, you boil it down to the essence of what that issue is and you've got it right there and agree or disagree -- >> it is even more important now because the number of ways you can access news, the amount of material out there is just mush -- has just mushroomed and the distillation is the thing now. >> bill: and we, gentlemen have to leave it right there. i'm sorry. congratulations. welcome to town. have a big group hug today. dan, thanks for coming in. thanks so much for your good work. >> thank you. >> bill: keep it going. even if you piss us off. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>only on current tv. dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me.

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> >> announcer: the parting shot

with bill press. >> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: on this friday, september 14, almost out of time. so a quick parting shot. although i have to say i'm glad we're going after the terrorists who conducted those attacks against our consulate in libya. but i think we also should go after the people who produced that video and put it up online. to me, they're as bad as the terrorists because they're using religion to inflame hatred and to trigger violence and to cause the loss of innocent lives. with that, have a good weekend folks! buffalo! here i come! hope to see you out there tonight at the talking leaves bookstore! at 7:00 p.m. if you can make it, please come by and say hello. i will be in miami with the labors union on monday but john fuglesang will be here. have a great weekend. look for john on monday. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."